2 
Beekeeping 
Two classes of beekeepers. 
By one of those curious shiftings which are so frequent in 
human activities, beekeeping is coming more and more to 
be restricted to two rather distinct classes of beekeepers. 
Of these the more important numerically is composed of the 
so-called amateur beekeepers, who keep a few colonies pri¬ 
marily for recreation and only incidentally for honey for 
home use and perhaps a little to sell locally. The amateur 
ranks are now made up to a large extent of dwellers in towns, 
cities and suburbs. The other class, on which the honey- 
consuming public must chiefly depend, is that of the profes¬ 
sional or specialist beekeeper, whose chief if not sole business 
is honey-production, and who is often a resident of a town or 
city. Various factors, to be discussed later, make it increas¬ 
ingly desirable that commercial honey-production be carried 
on by experts, by men who are mentally equipped and trained 
to get maximum results. While the present tendency is, of 
necessity, toward the keeping of bees by professional bee¬ 
keepers, there will always be thousands belonging to the 
amateur class, and it is by no means intended in the present 
discussion of the subject to leave out of consideration the 
enthusiast who desires to keep a few colonies for pleasure. 
It is probable that the larger part of our present professional 
beekeepers began as amateurs, rather than as farmer-bee¬ 
keepers, and, in all likelihood, the extensive producers of the 
future will be recruited from the suburbanites and nature- 
lovers who now keep bees for the enjoyment they get from 
them, with little present thought of future gain. 
This source of future commercial beekeepers seems all the 
more probable since it is difficult to begin beekeeping on a 
large scale. The many minor details which go to make up 
success in getting maximum crops cannot come solely from 
reading nor can the needed information be bought with the 
apiary. A small beginning is strongly to be advised and, as 
the novice grows in experience, the colonies may be increased 
in number. It is a commendable plan to make the bees pay 
for themselves, almost from the start, as well as for the addi- 
